Acetylene-gas generator.



Patented Aug. 22, |899.

A. POST BRIEN. AGETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Application med Feb. 141, 1s99.)'

2 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

,THE mams PETERS c.. :moro-umu., wAsmNcmm, u c.

No. 3|,476. Patnted Aug. 22,1899.'

A. PosT s. w. oBmEN. ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

(Application med Feb. 1'1, 1899.)

(No Model.) Y 2 Sheets--Sheet 2.

U1\IITEDl lSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMOS POST AND WILLIAM OBRIEN, O'F CATSKILL, NEW YORK.

AC ETYLEN EAGAS G EN ERATO R.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 631,476, dated August 22, 1899.

Application filed February 1l, 1899. `Serial No. 705,277. (No model.)

T all whom, it may concern.:

Be it known that we, AMOS POST and WIL- LIAM OBRIEN, citizens of the United States, residing at Catskill, in the county of Greene and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Acetylene-Gas Generator, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an acetylene-gasgenerating apparatus, and has for its object to provide simple and improved means for controlling the supply of liquid to the geuerator, while'preventing the escape of gas at a normal pressure or when the pressure does not exceed a predetermined limit, and, furthermore, to provide, in connection with the liquid-feeding devices, a relief or blow-0H, which while normally sealed is adapted to be exposed by the excess of gas-pressure to allow the escape of such excess.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side View, partly in section, of a gas-generating apparatus constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of the gasometer and tank and alconnected generator. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the liquidfeeding devices.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a gasometer-tank, and 2 a lioating gasometer mounted therein `in accordance with the general practice, the lower edge of the gasometer,which is concealed by the liquid contents of the tank, being provided7 preferably, with antifriction guide-rollers 3, which traverse the inner surface of the wall of the tank. Arranged at opposite sides and eXteriorly of the tank and preferably at diametrically opposite points are vertical tubular guides 4 and 5, which preferably extend through lateral ears 6 at the upper edge of the tank, and carried by the gasometer are ears 7, which are mounted to slide upon said guides to maintain the upper end of the gasometer in its proper-position with relation to the tank, or, in yother words, in its proper path of movement. In the construction illustrated these tubular guides 4 and 5 consist of pipes, of which the latter, which forms an outlet-conveyer, communicates at its upper end with a gas-main 8, while connecting the upper end of the former with the latter isa cross-pipe 9, forming a transverse brace. -At an intermediate point the standard 4 is -provided with a closed union 10, by which an upper pipe-section, forming one member of said standard, is connected with a lower pipesection 4a,constituting an inlet-pipe, and connected, respectively, with the lower ends of the inlet-pipe 4 and the outlet-pipe 5 are inlet and outlet pipe extensions 11 and 12, constituting cooling-conductors and extending upward through the water or other liquid contents of the tank toa point above the plane of the surface of the liquid. In the construction illustrated the lower ends of the pipes 4av and 5 are connected by a transverse pipe *13, having separate sections connected by a closed union 14, said sections being respectively in communication with the coolingconductors 11 and 12.

The generator proper consists of any desired number of receptacles 15, connected by branch pipes 16 with a generator-pipe 17, said branches being provided with valves 18, having vents 19, and this generator-pipe is upheld to support the receptacles by means of uprights'20, consisting of stand-pipes or the equivalents thereof. Also in practice each receptacle is provided with a sectional top 21, of which the central member 22 is removable and is connected with the branch pipe 16, a suitable fastening device being employed to support the receptacle in operative relation with said removable member or cover. For in generator-pipe 17 is connected at one end with 4a couveyer 27, which extendsA to and communicates with the inlet-pipe 4, and in communication with the otherend of said generatorpipe is a liquid-feeding mechanism forming IOO one feature ot' our improved generating apparatus. This feeding device consists of a pluralityof traps connected in series-namely, with the ascending or discharge arm of one trap connected with the descending or inlet arm of the next and with the ascending or discharge arm of one of the terminal traps in communication with the generator-pipe 17 and the descending or inlet arm of the other terminal trap in communication with a liquidreceiving funnel 28. In the construction illustrated only two traps 29 and 30 are shown, the descending or inlet arm of the trap 30 having the funnel 28 in communication therewith and the ascending or discharge arm of the other trap 29 being in communication with the generator-pipe; but communicating with the two traps at their point of connection or at the upper end of the descending arm of the trap 29 is a relief or blow-off pipe 31, which, however, is scaled by the contents of the trap 2f), and hence can be in communication with the generator-pipe only when the liquid contents of thc trap 29 have been forced out aud into the trap SO by the pressure of gas in the generator-pipe. It will be seen that by employing a plurality of traps arranged in series as described an excessive pressure of gas in the generator-pipe sufficient to back water out of the main trap 29, and thus allow the escape of the surplus or excessive pressure in the generator-pipe, will not discharge the contents of the auxiliary trap 30, and therefore upon the reduction of the pressure in the generator-pipe to a normal tension the contents of the auxiliary trap will be in a position to reseal the relief-tube 31, and thus prevent lowering the pressure in the generator-pipe below normal. To insure this operation, the inlet or descending arm of the auxiliary trap 30 is extended above the horizontal plane of the point of communication of the relief-tube with the traps, thus locating the funnel 2S at a considerable elevation above the point of connection of the two traps; but this extension of the inlet or descending arm of the auxiliary trap will control the normal pressure of gas in the generator. In other words, by extending said inlet-arm to a greater or less length the amount of pressure in the generator necessary to displace the contents of the main trap will be correspondingly varied, and therefore it is possible by the length of the inlet or descending arm of the auxiliary trap to control the normal pressure of gas desired in the generator, such pressure obviously being well within the tested strength of the retorts or receptacles constituting the generator.

' The supply of liquid, as water, to the funnel, as in other devices of this class, is controlled by the position of the gasometer; but that form of the apparatus which we prefer to employ embodies a supply-reservoir 32, located exteriorly of the gasometer-tank, a flexible feed-tube 33, of rubber or equivalent material, having a terminal petcock 3i and a pendent bracket 35, carried by the gasometer and supporting said feed-tube at a point near its extremity to cause thc feedtube to form a gooseneck or trap, with its discharge end in a pendent position over the funnel.

lVith this arrangement ot parts the operation of the apparatus is as follows: Vhen the gasometer is full, the discharge end of the feed-tube is elevated, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, to prevent outliow from the reservoir 32; but as the contents of the gasometer become exhausted to allow the descent thereof the discharge `end of the feedtube is lowered to arrange it below the plane of the surface of the liquid in the reservoir, whereupon the liquid is fed to the funnel and thence passes through the connected traps to the generator-pipe and enters the retorts of the generator to come in contact with the calcium carbid or other chemical contained therein. The gas generated in the retorts thence passes through the generatorpipe into the conveyer 27, thence into the inlet-pipe l, and finally through the coolingconductor 1l into the gasomctcr, and when the accumulation of gas in the gasometer has been su flicient to again raise the latter sufficiently to carry the discharge end of the feed-tube above the plane of the contents of the reservoir the supply of liquid will cease, and hence generation of gas will correspondingly be discontinued. From the gasometer the gas on its way to the main S passes through the down-conductor 12, wherein it is again exposed to the cooling action of the contents of the tank, and through the outletpipe 5, which forms one of the guides on which the gasometer operates.

Should the pressure of gas generated in the retorts exceed that for which the apparatus is adjusted, or, in other words, exceed the resistant pressure of the contents of the traps, the water will be backed out of the main trap 29 sufciently to expose the extremity of the relief-tube 31, and an immediate reduction of pressure to the atmosphere will ensue; but the moment the pressure in the generator is reduced to normal the extremity of the relief-tube will be again sealed by the return of the water into the main trap from the auxiliary trap. It will be seen that the pressure in the auxiliary trap, which is exposed to the pressure in the generator, remains constant, the same not being in any way reduced by the forcing of the water out of the main trap, and owing to the location of the end of the relief-tube the contents of the auxiliary trap cannot be blown out, and therefore there is always a suflicient quantityof liquid in the auxiliary trap and under a normal pressure to seal the relief-tube, and thus prevent further escape of gas when the pressure of gas is reduced to the normal. From the foregoing description it willbe seen, furthermore, that the operation of the apparatus cannot be initiated or gas cannot be generated until after the main and auxiliary IOO IIO

traps have been charged and sealed, thereby of course sealing the relief-tube, and hence the gas generated in the retorts, if within the pressure described as normal, must pass through the channels provided therefor to the gasometer. Furthermore,should the contents of the first retort become exhausted that retort will become lled with liquid, thus expelling all the gas contained therein, before the water will pass to the second retort of the series, whereupon when it is necessary to recharge the retorts it may be done Without the lossof gas and without exposing the operator to danger incident to the liberation of surplus gas which may be contained therein. Furthermore, it will be seen that the valves by which communication between the retorts and the generator-pipe is controlled are arranged in the branches, and therefore when lthe solid contents of the retort have been exhausted the valve of that retort or in the branch with whichthat retort is in communication may be closed to cut that retort out of the series, whereupon it may be filled without danger to the operator. Furthermore, it will be seen that the supply of water or other liquid is at one end of the generator-pipe, while the escape of gas is at the opposite end, or, in other words, that the liquid and gas traverse the generator-pipe in a common direction, and therefore when the gasometer is lowered to cause the flow of water into the generator-pipe said water first enters the first retort of the series and subsequently may be carried by the pressure of the gas to the other retorts in succession to cause the simultaneous operation of all of the retorts; but when the solid contents of the first retort'are eX- hausted a complete filling of said first retort with water vis necessary to cause the overflow to pass to the second retort of the series, and hence the gasometer will remain depressed until a sufficient amount of water has been supplied to fill the exhausted retort before the liquid passes to the second retort to cause the generation of gas.

It will be understood that in practice various changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or 'sacrific-v ing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim is 1. In an acetylene-gas apparatus, the combination with a generator, and a water-pipe, 17, communicating therewith, of a series of traps terminally in communication with each other and having a gas-relief at an intermediate point, the descending arm of the final trap connected to the pipe, 17, and the ascending arm of the receiving-trap provided with a supply-funnel adapted to maintain in said final trap a sufficient volume of water to counteract the gas-pressure in the generator, and a gasometer-controll'ed water-feed mechf anism adapted to supply water in regulated volumes to the funnel and thence through the traps to the generator, substantially as described.

2. In an acetylene-gas apparatus, the combination with a generator, and a water-pipe, 17, communicating therewith, of a series of terminally-connected traps provided with a relief-pipe, 31, at the crown of the final trap, the ascending leg of the receiving-trap provided with a funnel, 28, located above the traps and the descending leg of the final trap connected to the pipe, 17, to expose the liquid contents of the trap to the pressure of an excessive quantity of gas in the generator, and a gasometer-controlled water-supply mechanism arranged to discharge to the funnel, substantially as described:

3. An apparatus of the class described having a generator and a gasometer, a water-feed pipe, 17 and liquid-feeding devices comprising a liquid-reservoir, a iexible feed-tube in communication with said reservoir and terminally supported byV the gasometer, connected main and auxiliary traps, the discharge-arm of the main trap being incommnnication with the feed-pipe, 17, and the generator, and the inletfarm of the auxiliary trap terminating in a funnel, arranged in proximity to the flexible feed-tube to receive water therefrom, and a normally-sealed vent in communication with the traps at an intermediate point, substantially as specified. i

4. An acetylene-gas apparatus comprising a gasometer, a generator having a water-feed IOC pipe provided with depending branches and with retorts communicating with said branches, valves in the branches between the retorts and the water-feed pipe, a gas-pipe communicating with the distant end of the water-feed pipe for conveying gas to the gasometer, liquid-feeding devices including a gasometer-controlled supply, a plurality of connected traps of which the discharge-arm of the main trap communicates with the inner end of the water-feed pipe and the inletarm of the auxiliary trap is provided with a funnel situated above the series of traps and adapted to receive liquid from the liquid-feed devices, and a vent communicating with the main trap at an intermediate point, substantially as described.

In'testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto aiiixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

AMOS POST. WM. OBRIEN. Witnesses:

HOWARD C. WILBUR, P. S. JENNINGS, Jr.

IIO 

